Why people in Rich Neighbourhoods get Free Two Day Shipping from Amazon

By C. Moffat - May 10th.

I live in a wealthy neighbourhood of Toronto...

And I have discovered something fascinating about what happens when I pick the "Free Shipping" option when ordering things on Amazon.ca.

In the description for Free Shipping it says items will be shipped and received within 5 to 8 business days. However when I order things off Amazon, I typically receive them within 2 days.

And please note, I did not click on the "Two Day Shipping" option when buying them. I only clicked the Free Shipping option that is slower and takes 5 to 8 days.

So for example, yesterday, May 9th, I ordered a picnic blanket for my son and a LP record for my mother. I was just notified by email that both items will arrive tomorrow, the 11th.

So within 2 days, the same as you would expect for two day shipping.

So why would me living in wealthy neighbourhood of Toronto effect the shipping times?

Well, many people in my neighbourhood use Amazon Prime and they are not used to waiting for things. When they order something they usually choose either the 1 day shipping or 2 day shipping options. Plus there is quite a lot of people in my neighbourhood who shop in this manner.

This means that in order to save on costs, Amazon will often load up the delivery truck with multiple items for the whole neighbourhood that is governed by our post office and ship them all at once. This saves Amazon a lot of money on delivery costs.

Thus, with the sheer number of wealthy people in my neighbourhood who use 1 day or 2 day shipping, anything I order off Amazon typically shows up in only 2 days.

The exception to this is the Christmas season, which is a bit slower due to the volume of items being shipped, but I still received everything I ordered ahead of time. Way faster than it normally would have been.

Living in a large city like Toronto probably also helps speed delivery.

I am reminded of when I used to live downtown near the Rogers building on Bloor Street. I had Rogers internet at the time and it was the fastest internet connection I had ever had. Being close to the source dramatically reduced download times.

Thus, in my situation, living in a wealthy neighbourhood where people unaccustomed to waiting I get super-fast Amazon deliveries and all I have to do is pick the free shipping option.

That is a nice perk in my opinion.

Downside, the drivers in my neighbourhood are also impatient morons. Rich impatient morons who run over children. It is so bad in the local park they installed a camera that monitors the speed people are going and flashes what speed they are doing. People in the neighbourhood often have signs on their lawns, warning drivers to slow down because of children. If you know of what I speak, you know which neighbourhood I am living in.

So be forewarned if you live in a rich neighbourhood and have small children, keep an eye on them at all times because rich people don't like to slow down when they are driving and are often looking at their phones.